We are currently in the process of designing our new kitchen and contacted Ryan Reph to get ideas/estimate. Selwa, the representative who came to our house was super knowledgeable and pleasant to interact with. Of the four quotes we received from various companies, hers was the most thorough and comprehensive and that, combined with other positive Checkbook ratings gives us a lot of confidence. We have not made our final selection yet, so we cannot rate Ryan Reph's service beyond the design phase at this time, but so far, we would highly recommend this company.

Consumer
from Alexandria, VAApr 15, 2020

Not Recommended

Please note that this review is only based on the design and consultation steps of a bathroom renovation we tried to do with Ryan Reph Remodeling.
We contacted Selwa Reph to come to our house and start the process for giving us an estimate to renovate a 10'x12' bathroom. While discussing what we wanted, I pointed out that because it will be the most used bathroom in the house, we want it to be more than just a basic job and were willing to spend some money to use higher-end materials and to please reflect that in the price estimates for the contract. I asked the same of her that I did the other companies who came in....please don't quote us the lowest price estimate for materials....we're not buying plain white tile from Home Depot, so please estimate for midrange materials so if we have the budget we can go for even nicer stuff, but don't budget for the low-end materials. We have not done a renovation like this before, so we had no idea what cheaper materials cost vs more expensive ones, so we were relying on her expertise. When we showed a picture of a shower with glass tiles, we asked Selwa how those materials would change the prices quoted in the contract and she said it would be a difference of a few hundred dollars.
We signed with Reph Remodeling and they gave us a price range of $8/SqFt for tiles to work with. They also sent the specs for the job to Architectural Tile and Ceramic in Vienna. When my wife and I showed up there to select tile, grout, flooring, etc., out of all the selections in that store, there was about 1/4th of one small bin that let us pick from about 20 basic porcelain tiles in that price range. With such a pathetic selection, we went ahead and picked out tiles we liked in the $16 price range. What had been an $1,850 allowance ballooned to a $5,920 estimate from Architectural Tile and Ceramic. And that amount was based on the contractors discounted prices! When I spoke with Selwa Reph about her estimate for $8/SqFt, she defended it and said I should have been able to find something in my price range there but said she would call the salesperson and review the quote they had provided us. She also claimed she specified the "difference of a few hundred dollars" for glass tiles was only in reference to the construction cost...not the added cost of the tiles which she did not mention or use to adjust her estimate of $8/SqFt....why didn't she add in the change in the cost to materials as well?
When we went to another tile shop to redo the entire process of selecting materials, the manager of the store immediately caught an error on the original quote from the other store that added on over $1,300 to the quote; calling for a whole palate of 50 lb bags of thinset......56 bags in all....2,800 pounds of thinset for a 10'x12' bathroom. The other tile shop said we would need 4 bags at most. The total from Architectural Tile and Ceramic was still way over Selwa's estimate of $1,850, but a huge glaring error that should stand out to a company that works with this all day every day. When I asked Selwa about this error, she admitted that she did not actually review the order with the sales rep and just never caught the error. It was after bringing this issue up along with pointing out my displeasure about the lowball pricing estimate that Selwa Reph decided to terminate the contract and returned our deposit.
While they get great reviews and I have no basis for commenting on the demo & construction team, they are not cheap so we expected better results at all stages of our interactions with them. If you decide to work with them, just be skeptical of the materials pricing unless you already know exactly what you're going to have them install and then make sure you have someone else review the order for materials accuracy. I will note that the contractor we wound up going with wound up costing less, immediately verified the estimates from the tile supplier and went over our selections to make sure he understood what we wanted so he could give us the most accurate estimate which wound up being within $150 of the final total for materials.

...and 60 more consumer comments for Ryan Reph Remodeling

You won't find anything else like Checkbook

Nonprofit and independent

Takes no advertising or referral fees

Ratings and reviews by surveyed Consumers' Checkbook and Consumer Reports local subscribers

Thousands of undercover price comparisons

Complaint counts from local consumer agencies and attorney general offices

Contractors: Remodelers & General Articles

Start by carefully considering what you think you want. Then weigh your wish list against what you’ll probably pay to fulfill it. Identifying goals and thinking through available options will force some decisions—and also help you set a budget cap.

If you’re adding new rooms, making substantial changes to the existing floor plan, or dealing with complex structural or functional questions, you’ll need to hire professional design help. There are several design options and combinations of options.

Though some homeowners leave the vetting and selection of contractors to their architects or house designers, most make the call themselves—and rightly so. Hiring a contractor who can successfully build what you’re planning, at a favorable price, is the most important step in any remodeling project.

Make a list of several companies that seem suitable for your project; then get in touch and schedule in-home consultations. Your objective is to compile a list of at least three companies, but preferably five or more, that will give you proposals and pricing.

Checkbook’s undercover shoppers asked contractors to bid on four different projects. Company-to-company price differences were striking. For the largest of the jobs, quotes ranged from $173,000 to $302,000—a difference of nearly $130,000.

Once you’ve picked a contractor, have it prepare a written contract. It should include the following information for medium-sized and major projects; but even if your project is small, many of these points also apply.

You can use our advice and price ratings to pay less—often a lot less—for appliances, fixtures, flooring, plantings, and many other products that you can buy on your own, rather than having your contractor buy them for you. But should you?

You have several options to pay for your project. Cash certainly is the easiest: no applications, no forms, no appraisals, no debt, no interest. However, many homeowners borrow to cover large remodeling jobs.